Astronomers have found the largest and farthest water reservoir in the universe, 140 trillion times the amount of water in Earth’s oceans, surrounding a quasar 12 billion light-years away. This water vapor, unlike the frozen water in the Milky Way, exists in a massive gaseous region, heated by the quasar’s X-rays and infrared radiation, making it warmer and denser than typical galactic gas. The quasar, APM 08279+5255, hosts a black hole 20 billion times more massive than the Sun and produces energy equivalent to a thousand trillion Suns. Observations indicate that the gas around the black hole could help it grow up to six times larger, though some of the gas may condense into stars or be ejected from the quasar. Two independent teams discovered this water using advanced telescopes like Z-Spec in Hawaii and the Plateau de Bure Interferometer in the French Alps, with each team contributing key findings about the water’s mass and composition.
A team of astronomers have found the biggest and farthest reservoir of water ever discovered. A huge cloud envelops a quasar 12 billion light-years away. To think of such massive distances is difficult.
Think of a safe in space that holds 140 trillion times the amount of Earth's oceans as water vapor. That number is more than mystifying — it is a miracle. The quasar — called APM 08279+5255 and fueled by a supermassive black hole — is the most distant of its kind that has been confirmed using X-ray data.
It is so heavy that its weight is a staggering 20 billion times the mass of our Sun. It gives off energy like a thousand trillion suns, an enormous amount of power. That results in a strange water-rich environment that challenges our understanding of the early universe.
"This discovery tells us that water is more widespread in the solar system than we ever imagined, even at a very young age," commented Matt Bradford of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. If this is what we have found in just a few weeks, how much more water must be out there still waiting to be revealed?
Water in the Early Universe
What we may find interesting is that this water vapor does not take place in a vacuum, but in an immense gaseous region that extends for hundreds of light-years around the black hole. This water is still so far away, both in distance and time, but the quasar's clouds of hot steam reveal that water was present even back then.
That's amazing to consider — how does something as fundamental as water actually survive in space? Water vapor is also present in Earth's atmosphere, but it looks like a dryer compared to Venus. Near the galaxy's hungry black hole, scientists measured a region with only about 4,000 times less of what was found near the quasar.
The majority of the water in our galaxy is still locked away as icy reservoirs. That idea is a little terrifying. So our view of water in the galaxy just became a little more complicated.
Importance of Water Vapor
So too, does water vapor serve as a key trace gas for astronomers. Their discernings help them to decipher celestial objects way beyond our reach. The vapor's presence indicates that, like a cosmic lighthouse beacon, powerful X-rays and ultraviolet/infrared light rays from the quasar are stripping hydrogen off surrounding gas clouds.
This causes what is effectively a very hot and dense environment. But believe it or not, this gas is still a bit chilly at -63°F (-53°C). However, it is still some five times hotter and denser than equivalent parts of our galaxy.
It is a dichotomy how cold can appear so full of life. The black hole's environment must be heated to just the right temperature and density, a chaotic dance that could reshape how researchers think about galaxies. As we know, the universe is a mystery.
Orbiting the Quasar into the Future
The scientists are using the water vapor as a yardstick for what is to come with the quasar. They are even looking at molecules such as carbon monoxide. The findings are consistent with models that predict enough gas to more than double the size of this black hole, up to six times its current mass.
Click below to let us know you read this article, and wikiHow will donate to World Possible on your behalf. Or will some form of stars, or hopefully few, be ejected from the quasar? The discovery was itself a collaboration among astronomers.
The other team, led by Matt Bradford of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., utilized the Z-Spec instrument in Hawaii in 2008. Another team, led by Dariusz Lis, used the Plateau de Bure Interferometer in the French Alps to follow their lead. Altogether, they combined different spectral signatures to observationally confirm this water stockpile.
Conclusion: A Look At Cosmic Wealth
Not only does this major discovery underscore the presence of water in our universe, but it also supports that complex tapestry of quasars. Cosmic bodies shape environments already just a couple of billion years after the universe begins. What does that mean for those of us living on this pale blue dot?
Every time there is a new discovery, we advance that much more in our understanding of the universe. The universe is not just what you see. The mysteries those depths conceal push the frontier of our understanding to what is known (or guessed at) about the conditions in which it was born.
